The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

CAAP raising funds to get lawsuit to the federal-court level

Group's case against the city dismissed at the local level

By Cecily Barnes

The nonprofit group Citizens Against Airport Pollution (CAAP) is working to raise $20,000 to appeal the dismissal of its lawsuit against the city of San Jose.

The suit, dismissed in Superior Court in May, alleges that the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it approved the largest of four alternatives for expanding San Jose International Airport.

"The basic premise of the lawsuit is that the city was required by CEQA to find a less polluting, less damaging alternative," said CAAP president Lenora Porcella. "CEQA requires the city to pick the least damaging alternative that still meets the goals of the project. We feel that could have happened with either alternative A or B."

Now CAAP wants to bring the lawsuit before a federal court, where CAAP members think it would have a better chance of being heard.

"We think we have a real good shot since it would go to federal court and be taken out of the local political arena," Porcella said.

CAAP attorneys say the group's case is solid and stands a good chance of being approved in federal appeals court.

Rose Zoia, an attorney with Brandt-Hawley and Zoia, the firm representing CAAP said, "CEQA says that you may not choose to approve a project if there is a feasible alternative. It doesn't say that you have to choose a particular alternative, but it says you may not adopt a particular program if there is a feasible alternative. This is a good case."

The San Jose City Council approved what is known as Project Case on June 10, 1997, the biggest of the four proposed expansion plans. Project Case includes construction of a second, 11,000-foot runway, a third passenger terminal, a major cargo facility, a fuel-storage area and an additional parking garage.

The decision came after months of public hearings and community meetings, where opponents of the massive expansion complained about the potential impact of noisy planes, gridlocked traffic and polluted air. The project was approved with some of these impacts mitigated and some not.

CAAP is now looking for community donations to stop the massive expansion and force the city to re-evaluate an alternative with less potential impact.

CAAP can be contacted by phone at 297-9753.

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